Five people have died, thousands of structures have burned, and over 100,000 residents are under evacuation orders from the fires burning across LA County. Despite the still-closed evacuation areas, Pacific Palisades community members are hoping to gain access to their neighborhoods to assess the damage.
KQED Reporter Saul Gonzalez visited areas of the Pacific Palisades not actively burning. He spoke to local residents:
Eitan, a real estate developer who preferred not to include his last name, said, “I can tell you that this neighborhood is absolutely devastated. I can tell you the future of this community and the rebuild is absolutely… up in the air.”
Eitan explained that the fires affect more than just the residents: “None of the people who live here work here. They’re here as a somewhat bed-and-breakfast kind of thing, almost. They work elsewhere, but they chose this place for the air quality, for the community life, for the schools, for all those things that appear to be gone.”
A healthy orange tree stands in front of the ruins of a home. Photo by Saul Gonzalez.
People working for Palisades residents will see massive changes to their livelihoods due to the fires.
House manager Claudia Valdenarez said, “Gardeners, people who clean, nannies, dog walkers a lot of people … are going to be out of jobs because of this disaster. … I’ve been seeing fires around in California, but not like this.”
Heidi Issacs, who owns a home (now burned) and business in this neighborhood, came back partly for fear of looting: “My store survived so far, and I want to get in there. Yeah I’ve got documents. I’ve got stuff I need to take out. Who knows? It could get looted, [it] could still burn right now. It’s accessible. I can get in there and take a few possessions. I have nothing else.”